Hurricane Harvey in Houston Addicks and Barker Reservoirs Update 

LINKS to reservoir levels from Harris County Flood Warning System Addicks: www.harriscountyfws.org/GageDetail/Index/2110 Barker: www.harriscountyfws.org/GageDetail/Index/2010

When the Oroville Situation got bad, Juan Browne never wavered from the facts. No sensationalism, no hype, no overly dire predictions, just deep, deep and ongoing analysis.

Thanks for the first class reporting

Juan, should you ever have to give up commercial flying (hopefully not for another 30-40 years!), there is no one I'd rather see reporting on major incidents such as this. What's more amazing is that you are doing this single-handed, instead of with the staff major "news" channels have. Thanks for explaining these items with clarity that people can understand, without the hype and hysteria. And as always, thanks to your family and wife for their understanding and support - they are truly special!

i've been listening to the news all day and once again you are the only one to explain about the earthen levees!

Good luck my Texan and Louisiana brothers. Love and prayers from Scotland. Thoughts are with you all.

Kind of far for a flyover with the Luscombe. Any chance you can borrow a 777?

Juan thanks for the video I'm from north east Texas I have followed your whole oroville series thank you for always providing reliable an very educated information on these ongoing events

Juan - keep in mind the spillways are lower than those maximum's you mentioned. Addicks spillway is at 108

Like what you're doing Juan, thanks for being a stand up guy keeping us informed . . .you may have found your calling. Keep your style . . .stay true . . .thanks

Great job Juan, you nailed it. Community leaders in Houston had many tough calls to make, they stepped up and made them.

Thanks for the reporting on my backyard. Houston can not be evacuated in the short amount of time we had, even if everyone wanted to leave. The logistics are not there. Half everyone would be stranded on the roads with no fuel to buy. The stations run out REAL fast.

Juan Browne and fact based reporting; putting the MSM to shame once again!

Thanks for the information. I live in Houston, but I don't live near the reservoirs. I also don't live in a flood plane, although my street is flooded to over the curb. My house is high enough that I don't believe water will get into the house. My family and I have been watching the rescues and the devastation. I pray for the people who lost their property.

Juan you are a far better reporter than 90% of the so called "professional"reporters out there. Great job.

I was always impressed about how you kept us informed about Oroville Dam, but to reach out to those in Texas concerned about the flooding impresses more. To show the care you have for those there is awesome. God Bless you and prayers to those affected in the Houston area.

I commend you on your information! I grew up in Katy and for a few years i lived with the back of my property up against barker reservoir only 200 yards from spill way. Let me add that most of the time it is empty with only a small creek flowing through it 4-5 feet deep. in fact of the 17,000 acres of the res. much of it is set up with soccer and baseball fields a dog park shooting range and R/C airfield all of this area is expected to flood and be underwater at times. the height you gave were misleading the 122 feet is above sea level with the base of dam only being 65 ft above sea level and a maximum water capacity of only 37 ft above the stream bed and the addicks only allowing 49 ft above stream bed . both of the reservoirs actually have elevated state roads that traverse them even when there is a lot of water in them until the level becomes too high eventually swallowing the roads till the water recedes. with the buffalo bayou system the parts made by mother nature are about 50,000 years old and the roughly 60 miles that it crosses only drops 60 feet which is only 1 foot per mile to sea level this combined with the relatively shallow bayou at most 50 feet deep below mean ground height it lends to easily coming out of its banks and the flooding covering such a wide area. this is compounded by the many underpass roadways that go under the major roads which flood easily and cant drain when the storm drains are actually lower than the height of water in the bayou. if you use google earth there is an image of the barker res. from 5-2015 where you can see it about 1/3 full compared to its normally empty appearance also check the imagery from 4-2016

Thanks Juan, I am a resident of Spring Texas, a northern suburb of Houston. We are having what they class as a thousand year flood.We have received well over 30 inches of rain so far and it is raining at the rate of 1/2 to 1 inch per hour. No water at the house YET.

you are now tuned in to the only reliable news source, the blancolirio channel. ;) thanks Juan.

Still the best reporting anywhere Jaun very impressive. I said it once but saying it again you are a gifted reporter/journalist. I know you have a great job as a pilot but Jaun you was borned to be a journalist. Don't ever stop it's who you really are.

Fantastic job Juan with the explaining a technical nuance about levees. I've been watching your channel since you first starting covering the issues with Orville dam. I hope you get a media award for this extended, objective and very comprehensive coverage.

Those poor people! As always, Juan, your reporting is succinct, timely and spot-on helpful! I was already drawing similar conclusions from news reports I heard thanks to all the clear background information provided in your Oroville Dam Series. You're educating a lot of people and hopefully this message will get to people trapped in that unbelievable situation. Our prayers remain with the residents of Houston and their First Responders! Thanks!

I was watching Fox 26 airing last night's flood warnings from the officials-- thanks to your reporting I was able to be all 'oh shit they're misdirecting enough to cover up an inability to cope with the situation re: evacuation

Good info "Blancolirio", we'll say a prayer for all those people in and around Houston & Southeastern Texas......I've been through the area a few times in a Big Truck and it is pretty flat....

I heard a lot of one line and bullet points about Houston's dire situation. Now in less that 8 minutes I have several key facts that fill in large gaps left by mainstream media coverage. But consumers of mainstream media are probably satisfied with the shallow sensationalized coverage we so often get because good reporting requires lots of research and is just too time consuming when the news cycle is so short.

Thanks for your professional details. I'm in Houston close to Allen Parkway and checking the Buffalo Bayou level twice a day. Sunday was very critical, but since yesterday it's been receding. I believe that both dams water release can be accomplished quite comfortable to allow additional water retention. The engineers are doing a great job!

Thanks for this Juan. It really helps the public understand a little more about weather and water management. I wish weather courses were part of the public school teachings. It would help allot of people.

6:50 listen up. Been following you since February when our spillway crumbled. I think what separates you from the rest. #1 you don't speak on things to which you don't know. #2 You don't speculate. You are not only well informed, but you understand what you are conveying to us viewers, breaking it down and explaining much that we didn't understand. I appreciate you Juan.

Thanks Juan, I live in NW Houston and I have been following you all throughout the Oroville situation. Your perspective and information is greatly appreciated....looking forward to your next post....

Juan, that was a great explanation, first coming from your experience as a resident of the Orville Dam crisis, and second as a airline pilot and knowing the ins and outs of weather, which all must know. Thanks, even though I live in Pennsylvania and not affected.

Top notch, concise and accurate reporting. Thanks Juan. The weather channel et.al. confusing and all over the place. There's a huge high pressure system on the east coast stalling the storm over Texas too.

I've been watching all your videos for the past 6 months and I have to say that I could listen to you talk about how paint dries. You make anything interesting! You are simply the best at this kind of thing. Thanks for all you do. :)

I'm north of Houston, in Spring, near IAH.. Concerns here are Lake Conroe and number of creeks and bayou's in the area. Thank you so much for giving attention to events here sir 👍🏼👍🏼⛈

Great report Juan. Hope things don't tumble out of control with these dams. I wonder what would happen if they lost power? Looking forward to the Oroville Update part 2

Great Job Juan, Our prayers from northern California and everywhere are with you people, Hope you watch this link from Juan, he gives you an easy way of understanding what is going on. Just hold on Help is on it's way, when it is safe, God be with you Texan's

Growing up in Houston and Bellaire, Texas, we used to ride our bikes in Braes Bayou. The Bayou structure in the 1960's was a giant ditch, 100 feet across, and about 40 - 50 feet deep, with a concrete bottom. We could ride down into the bayou way out in what was then west Houston, and ride all the way into downtown without ever crossing or riding on a street. But the bayou would occasionally flood its banks. And when it did, water would be bubbling up out of the storm drains in all of the neighborhoods on either side. Oh the good old days!

Good work Juan... Looking out for Houston... I hope the folks there can receive the valuable information in your message.

Finally! A succinct explanation of the west Houston reservoir situation - thank you! Having followed the Oroville situation I have a better understanding now of what is happening in the Addicks and Barker reservoirs.

I'm near the Addicks Reservoir and im on the 2nd floor of an Apartment complex. The parking lot it filling and i was forced to relocate my car to higher ground. Water is now getting close to the bottom of the lower floor of the complex. My wife and i are fine for now but if the water gets into the lower floor of the complex, we will probably leave. Thank you, Juan for your insight on this catastrophic flooding here in Houston.

Thanks for the clear reporting. All best wishes to anyone caught up in the Tx flooding. Some of my family live in West Houston close to Green Trails Village. They are safe at the minute but things could change rapidly. regards from the UK

I appreciate all your reporting! Can't get really any good news reports on MSM. They are limited and many run the same story over and over and over again. We usually will watch it for the weather. So thanks Juan! Great stuff! 👍👍👍👍

God bless you Juan, and keep up the good work! I've been following your Oroville updates for months. I've got family close to Addicks Reservoir, so greatly appreciate your work here. If only we could get somebody near Houston to loan you a Mighty Luscombe!

Once again, effective, no nonsense coverage of a dire situation. Thanks Juan.

Thank you, Juan, for giving the update. MSM had not gone into the background reasoning (that I saw anywhere) as to why the releases were necessary, other than to "relieve pressure on an aging dam". Bull - they are both earth dams (thank you Juan) and the real possibility of failure exists if they don't release water. We have the same situation here in Florida with Lake Okeechobee and the earth dam keeping that water restricted. ACOE has talked for ages about improving/replacing and finally got around to some minor improvements recently. Still, it cannot hold enough water so that they don't dump fertilizer rich freshwater and kill the saltwater estuaries on either side of our great Florida peninsula.

Great video ! ABQ and NM get only about Five and one half inches (5.5") of rain a year. Know of one refuge from the Golf Coast taking refuge in ABQ from the storm... Am just under five thousand feet of elevation and have friends at higher elevations. And the high Pressure is keeping the storm out of NM. Thank You for the video ! tjl

From a Texan....Thanks for your update Juan.

Awesome Juan for the update in Houston! Thank a billion! 👍🏻💨🌧☔️🌪🌊

Excellent explanation, it helped me going through this storm why they opened the gates at the reservoirs. I'm also glad you agreed to keep the people "shelter in place" was and still is the correct choice in Houston and surrounding communities.. Why? Hwy 71 going west became a parking lot in 2005 after Hurricane Rita came through. I just rode out the flooding here around Smithville and Hwy 71 is underwater right now headed toward La grange TX. People would have drowned and been swept away over the weekend. Tropical Storm Harvey is once again is strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico, and has feeder bands aiming right for Galveston and Houston with 4 inch per hour in some areas tonight on the 28th. Its not over yet and may get a lot worse.

I'm here in North Arkansas and I have been watching a couple of the Houston live feeds stations most of today. One station got flooded out of their building and set up a temporary headquarters in one of the local colleges or universities...I believe...and they are all doing a great job keeping up with the constantly changing crisis and with lots of live reporting from around the area. To call this destruction and the Human tragedy one of "Biblical proportions" would not be much of a stretch. But I have also seen a tremendous amount of bravery and a 'can-do' attitude from so many people...these are real Heroes..!!

Juan, you explain it well! God blessed you with a gift of service. 🇺🇸

Thanks for the update. I came here to check if you reported on these dams and sure enough here you are. Some unverified reports that uncontrollable "emergency spillway" release is underway on the side of the dam

Thanks, Juan, for the no BS reporting. This has to take up a major portion of your time, and I for one appreciate 'real' news and analysis. Wish others would take your lead in supplying facts. I don't live near Oroville OR Houston, but I have family in both regions. The blancolirio channel is an outstanding example of the best stuff you can get from the internet. Thanks for doing this.

Juan, you are a rare and wonderful resource -- straight, factual and forthright.

how great are you Juan and America so so helpful to your fellow people you wouldn't see what your doing here in UK good on you

Thanks for the input re the dams, Juan. I've been studying Houston hydrology since my boy moved there a year and a half ago. He lives on the bank of Buffalo Bayou but was elevated and downstream enough to avoid the mayhem.

This is so good! I really appreciate that you are giving this information about the event in Huston, as locals are going to be way too busy to clarify any of this. You give the right amount of information and suggestions with the undertone of serious direction. The fact the storm is lingering and continuing to feed rain water into the problem is quite frightening for those folks. All eyes are on Huston.

Mr. lirio, I'm not sure i can handle another dam situation covered by you. The excitement, thorough research, dedication, and commitment is unspeakably scintillating. Staying tuned...

Major thanks for this report Juan. I have two very good expat friends who relocated to Texas, one in Dallas and the other in Houston so I've been following what's going on there. Thankfully both of my friends have confirmed they are ok and Mike in Houston has posted some truly harrowing pictures. Hoping that the reservoir releases don't affect him too badly and thanks as always to you and fellow subscribers for some very useful links.

Hey, Great job of informing. I am in Austin and saw some nice rain but not as much as we have had before. Your information is very concise. I watched for hours from livestream last night and listened to the engineers report but yours was easier to digest. The mention of the design of the drainage was something that I did not hear from many reports yesterday which were long but just did not contain that information. Thanks for your great reporting and glad you did this.

This is my area of the globe! :) I commute to work through the Addicks reservoir on Eldridge Parkway, but that road is STILL CLOSED! darnit. I live more northwest just inside of Cypress, Texas. Thanks for your analytical summary - very smart you are! - and very accurate with your info.

Thank you for this information, Juan. I empathise with the folks in Texas (and in the past New Orleans) as I lived in Far North Queensland and Central Queensland and have been through Cyclones and massive floods. This is sage advice that people can adopt.

Thanks . I am in Pasadena Tx just east of Houston. I have had 36.5 inches of rain as of now and we still have heavy rain coming down.

Best report I've heard thus far. Prayers for the affected. Hopefully everyone with a boat is trying to save people, and those boats will be able to get enough fuel to keep going.

It looks like the dams will start uncontrolled releases in a few hours/tonight if inflows and outflows to both dams keep up at current rates. In a Monday evening press conference, officials said that the pool elevation at Addicks had risen nearly two feet in three hours, up to 105 feet as of 5 p.m. A similar increase was reported at Barker which is currently at 99.9 feet, up from 97.9 feet at 2 p.m. Officials had started to release water from both reservoirs early Monday in an effort to prevent uncontrolled releases at the spillways. However, officials warned that there was potential for uncontrolled releases at the Addicks spillway once the pool level reaches 108 feet. That level is 104 feet for Barker. Look forward to an update video. Watch out for something big to happen later tonight.

You convey useful and knowledgeable information exceptionally well.👍👍👍

As always. Your reports are direct and to the point.No BS.Very refreshing DS

Very well done👍👍👍👍

Nice reporting as always Juan! Shelter in place is a better alternative to what happened with Hurricane Rita where there was an evacuation order and around 100 people lost their lives in the chaos of 6.5 million people trying to leave. I hated seeing the Cajun Navy decide to pack up their boats and head home after some looters ambushed them and robbed them at gunpoint while pretending to be stranded and in need of assistance. Overall though the communities are pulling together and helping everyone.

Juan, they held a press conference yesterday evening to report most of the river gauges were broken or reporting improperly. A few of the gauges the USGS will be able to repair or install temporary gauges. Others they cannot do a thing about because they are underwater and probably been damaged due to debris in the water.

Knew your info would be great and it was. Haven't heard any of this on the news. Thanks for all your time spent condensing the information and producing the videos.

Thanks ever so much for this important insight to share with family and friends in South Texas, Juan! Oroville is definitely instructional for similar over-topping threats, in our case the Oroville Spillway disaster and under-constructed emergency spillway! Have shared with nephew just NW of Houston! If we can share what we've learned through you and it helps others in crisis, that's a huge blessing for them! Thanks much again, Juan! Best to you and Jeni and the kids! ;-)

Nice Juan, with luck this will help someone down there, good information to have.

Thanks for making this video!

Thanks so much, mi hermano Juan Browne ! All of my family lives in Texas - Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. The oldest Aunts are in Houston, and they are both smart enough to know when to get out if it floods them.. Your report just put all the huge amounts of sensationalism coverage to shame.. Thank you for taking the time to give us a great amount of some really important information, that has hardly been touched on.. Yes, we have all learned so much - especially those of us that live downstream of Lake Oroville.. As the only misplaced Texan, living way up here in Plumas Lake, CA., I thank you and your sweet family for sharing your incredible talent and work ethic with us ! God Bless you and yours, hermano !

Very hard to watch all the devastation going on down there, makes our oroville dam seem so much less to worry about. Thanks for all the info, it helps to be informed from all directions.

I look forward to your coverage of this problem .

Fantastic Mr. Brown...always concise and to the point...love the details

Thanks Juan. In under eight minutes, you answered all my questions.

Thank you Juan for the Updates! 👍✌️🇺🇸

Juan simply rocks!!!!!! I love listening to you. ❤️

Another excellent and concise report -- relevant and useful facts delivered in clear language. You are the man, Juan.

Excellent update - Thank you.

Juan - I was thinking about this a week or so ago. And now that you are all over the events in Houston, I wanted to ask if you ever used to read the columns written by Gordon Baxter for FLYING magazine. Houston was his home area, and 'Bax' could tell a Hell of a Tale! You appear to be a bit younger than me (by a decade or two...), so I am not sure if you would have ever read his work. I used to fly Quicksilver ultralight aircraft back when that sport was just getting started, and I roomed with an aircraft engineer who worked for Quicksilver. He had a great collection of Aviation books and four or five years' worth of FLYING, in pristine condition. I think I went through his library and read every story Gordon Baxter ever did! As usual, you have done a great service to people in a threatening situation there in Houston. Just a few short and simple facts works wonders coming from someone with your knowledge and interest in events. I haven't owned a TV since the early-1980's and also used to report and write columns for a small-town paper much like The Union.

Juan, You Deserve the Puliitzer Prize for Humanity/Engineering/Communications. Best Regards. Bob

I'll stay at home through hurricanes. I'm CERT trained [Community Emergency Response Team] and have been since 2003 and re-certified on 7/29/17, so I'm up to date and ready to help my neighbors should they need it.

Great report, Juan!! Thank You so much!

Thank you, Juan. You're a good man.

So important for folks to know their area!!

Thank you for another outstanding informative video. I subbed blancolirio when you started reporting about the Oroville Dam, now I see you speaking about the situation in Texas. Much appreciated, Some of my family are Texans.

Very useful information. Thank you Juan for all you do.

The Addicks Reservoir dam sensor has the water level at 108.51' at about noon CT today, Tuesday, the 29th. As Juan said and the chart shows, the height of the earthen dam is 108'. With a whole lot more rain coming and if the release flow cannot keep up, it looks like the dam will be topped. And Juan said that would mean failure. Boy, oh Boy. That`s bad. Thanks, Juan, for your commentary and the real-time USGS links to the reservoirs dams. And for all that you do.

You are the man Juan, thanks for the info.

Way to go Juan! Helping your neighbours as usual.

Very good, Juan, building out on your strength.

Thank you for your reasoned and well researched video Juan.

Juan Browne, creating a revolution on how information should be transmitted. Transparent, non-political, non-sensationalist, the right amount of technical information, without under-estimating the audiences' intelligence.

Glad you're branching out!

Looks like you are going to start up your own news service of American disasters online , with full up to date things that people should know. I think you have missed your calling but I suppose you need a day job keep up the great work you are doing.

Juan, thanks for your hard work at digging and reporting some truthful and accurate information. Hopefully your viewers will benefit from your efforts....that are "outside the scope of main stream media's abilities". ....13

As always Juan, you are always a voice of reason and useful information. Do you see any potential breaches in their levee system ?